Texas and Minnesota clash over extradition of ICE agent Christian Castro<\/h4>\n
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison are locked in a dispute over the extradition of I.C.E. agent Christian Castro, trading criticism over his prosecution and raising broader questions about state authority, federal immigration enforcement and accountability for immigration officers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
NEW<\/span>You can now listen to Fox News articles!\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n A federal judge on Wednesday handed Minnesota a major setback in its fight to keep ICE agent Christian Castro behind bars in Texas, denying an emergency request that would have blocked his release Thursday.<\/p>\n U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. rejected Minnesota\u2019s request for a temporary restraining order barring Cameron County Sheriff Manuel Trevino from releasing Castro while Texas Gov. Greg Abbott decides whether to extradite the agent to face assault charges.<\/p>\n Abbott\u2019s office swiftly hailed the decision, calling Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz\u2019s request “absurd.”<\/p>\n “The court was right to reject Governor Walz\u2019s absurd claim,” Abbott press secretary Andrew Mahaleris told Fox News Digital. “The Constitution requires deliberate consideration of extradition requests and tasks Governor Abbott to \u2018decide, upon such evidence as he may deem satisfactory\u2019 whether \u2018the person demanded is a fugitive.\u2019”<\/p>\n “Today\u2019s order rebuffs Minnesota\u2019s efforts to conscript federal courts into commandeering the authority of Governor Abbott\u2019s office,” Mahaleris added.<\/p>\n ‘POLITICAL STUNT’ PROSECUTION OF ICE AGENT FOR ‘ROAD RAGE’ PROVOKES HEATED DHS RESPONSE<\/strong><\/p>\n Federal law enforcement agents in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Jan. 23, 2026.<\/span> (Jack Califano\/Bloomberg via Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison blasted Abbott after the ruling, insisting Castro will still face the charges brought against him.<\/p>\n “Regardless of today\u2019s ruling, Christian Castro will not escape justice in Minnesota,” Ellison said in a statement. “Minnesota should never have had to file this lawsuit or this motion \u2026 Abbott is playing with constitutional fire.”<\/p>\n Ellison also accused the Texas governor of “turning Texas into a sanctuary state for violent criminals.”<\/p>\n Castro\u2019s 90-day detention period under Texas law expires Thursday. Trevino\u2019s counsel told the court that without a court order or a rendition warrant signed by Abbott, Castro would be released from the Cameron County Jail.<\/p>\n Rodriguez wrote that Minnesota “fails to satisfy the requirements for the issuance of a temporary restraining order.”<\/p>\n Minnesota had asked the court to force Abbott to immediately issue a rendition warrant and prevent Castro\u2019s release in the meantime. The state warned Castro could flee to Mexico, pointing to jail calls with a woman described in court filings as his romantic partner who lives in Progreso, Mexico.<\/p>\n According to the order, Castro discussed buying property and moving to Mexico in the future. Minnesota argued that if he left the country, it could take months or years to secure his return and prosecute him.<\/p>\n But Rodriguez ruled that Minnesota\u2019s lawsuit was premature because Abbott has not yet denied its extradition request.<\/p>\n “The record reflects only that Governor Abbott has neither agreed nor refused to sign the rendition warrant as to Castro,” the judge wrote.<\/p>\n Abbott instead directed the Texas secretary of state to investigate whether Castro should be surrendered, a step permitted under Texas\u2019 Uniform Criminal Extradition Act. Rodriguez found that neither the Constitution nor state and federal extradition laws at issue impose a set deadline for Abbott to complete that review.<\/p>\n “The Court concludes that this matter does not present an issue ripe for adjudication,” Rodriguez wrote.<\/p>\n Minnesota formally requested Castro\u2019s extradition in early June, after he was arrested in Cameron County on the state\u2019s warrant. The court noted Abbott has considered the matter for an “atypically-long duration,” but said Minnesota identified no law requiring the governor to act within a particular time frame.<\/p>\n TIM WALZ PARDONS ILLEGAL ALIEN CONVICTED OF ARMED ROBBERY BEFORE ICE DEPORTATION TO LAOS<\/strong><\/p>\n Federal law enforcement agents confront anti-ICE protesters during a demonstration in Minneapolis on Jan. 15, 2026. Castro is charged with multiple felony counts during one Minnesota encounter.<\/span> (Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Castro was charged in May with four felony counts of second-degree assault and one misdemeanor count of falsely reporting a crime stemming from a January ICE operation in Minnesota.<\/p>\n According to the order, Castro fired one shot through the closed front door of a home, injuring a person in the leg.\u00a0<\/p>\n The shooting sparked protests in north Minneapolis and has become part of a broader political and legal battle between Minnesota officials and the Trump administration over state prosecutions of ICE agents who took part in Operation Metro Surge.<\/p>\n 15 ANTIFA RADICALS INDICTED, 12 ARRESTED IN SWEEPING FEDERAL PROBE INTO MINNEAPOLIS ANTI-ICE OPERATIONS<\/strong><\/p>\n Minnesota prosecutors have separately charged ICE agent Gregory Morgan Jr. with two counts of second-degree assault after alleging he pointed a handgun at motorists during a traffic confrontation after an enforcement operation.<\/p>\n DHS has accused Minnesota “sanctuary politicians” of staging a “political stunt,” while Minnesota officials have argued the agents\u2019 alleged conduct fell outside their federal law-enforcement duties.<\/p>\n Abbott has raised questions about whether Castro can be considered a fugitive for extradition purposes because he returned to Texas on orders from federal immigration officials after the January incident.<\/p>\n Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott has not yet decided on the extradition request.<\/span> (Jay Janner\/The Austin American-Statesman via Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Rodriguez, however, signaled skepticism of that reasoning in a footnote.<\/p>\n “The Court has doubts that caselaw supports the construction of \u2018fugitive\u2019 that Texas is considering,” he wrote, noting that long-standing precedent appears to focus on whether an accused person left the state \u2014 not why.<\/p>\n Still, the judge said that question did not alter Wednesday\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP<\/strong><\/p>\n The ruling leaves Castro\u2019s immediate fate in Abbott\u2019s hands. If no rendition warrant is issued and no court order intervenes, he is expected to be released Thursday.<\/p>\n Walz did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.<\/p>\n Fox News’ Patrick McGovern and Elaine Mallon contributed to this report.<\/i><\/p>\n <\/p>\n![\"ICE-agents-and-car\"](\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1200\/675\/ice-agents-and-car.jpg?ve=1&tl=1\")
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